Animals & Acrobats

Despite nursing a slight fever, Mercer enjoyed a beautiful morning at Van Cortlandt Manor, a local historical landmark. The park was hosting an event called Animals and Acrobats, which is billed as an early-American traveling circus. We were treated to a magic show, olde-fashioned minstrels, jugglers, acrobats, mastodon bones, birds of prey, and a small sampling of interesting animals, including a baby kangaroo, porcupine, wallaby, crocodile, lemur, turtle, and a snake. Mercer got exhausted towards the end and fell asleep in the stroller ride back to the car. He then took a 2+ hour nap at home. As Pop types this, Mercer is chomping on a hot dog with a 100+ degree fever. He's such a good trooper.

Purple shirt

Daddy wore a purple shirt to work today. Mercer decided that he, too, would wear his purple shirt.

Cruisin' in the 7-3-2.

"No, Mommy, I can do it by myself."

This kid is going to hate us in his teens for stuff like this.

Potty Training: Day 6

Mercer has been having problems with accidents involving going number 2 in his pants. We tried a technique tonight that simply involved stripping Mercer of his pants and underwear. Well, it worked. Mercer just went number 2 all by himself. Apparently, most kids just won't go to the bathroom on the floor if they're naked. Weird. Hopefully this is the spark that sets Mercer's training in a forward motion.

Potty Training: Day 5

No real news to report. Mercer is still cool with wearing underwear. Nights have been dry, but he still has a problem with going number 2. He just hasn't adjusted yet and seems fine with trying to go in his pants. Not good.

On the other hand, he's excited about peeing himself and letting everyone know about it. No accidents at school yet, either. Overall, I'd say he's adjusting pretty well.

Potty Training: Day 3

Today was Mercer's first day at school without diapers. Overall, there were no major accidents besides a little bit of number 2 in the underwear. We've read that number 2 is really hard for kids to change their habits with for one reason or another. Mercer has been holding it all weekend, which isn't very healthy. Fortunately, that gave way a little bit tonight.

So another dry night last night and a dry day at day care. Not bad, so far. And to think on Saturday morning, Mercer was crying his eyes out about not wanting to get rid of his diapers. Now, he whines if he thinks we're trying to put a diaper on him. Amazing.

Potty Training: Day 2 / UPDATED

UPDATED: Not a bad day today. Mercer is good at home but seems to be struggling with telling Mom and Pop that he needs to pee when we're out. Maybe he's too excited to notice. We've had 2 dry naps and one dry overnight, but three accidents out: once at Target, once at Toys 'R Us, and once at Pizza Hut. That last one at Pizza Hut was a bad one. Besides being at Pizza Hut, Mommy had just put Mercer on the toilet not a minute earlier when Mercer said he didn't have to go. Then, we're ready to leave and then boom, wet pants, shoes, and socks. But Mercer rallied later in the night and even let Daddy know when he had to go. Good job, Mercer.

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It was a rough morning yesterday, but the afternoon shaped up a little better. With promises of going to the store, Mercer hopped right onto the toilet for Daddy and went a little bit. We had an accident at the store, but that's to be expected. Coincidentally, Mercer had the accident as we were shopping for his new underwear.

The more exciting news is that Mercer slept through the night without any problems. Mom and Pop fretted all night for no reason. We know that's not going to happen every night, but it's a great start. Mercer is such a good kid and a quick learner. Good job, buddy.

(He would reply: "I'm not a buddy. I'm Mercer.")

Stay tuned for updates.

Potty Training: Day 1

Mercer has had some interaction with the toilet before, but today we're starting for real. Mercer has shown zero interest in the toilet, even going as far as saying he was "never" going to use it. Mom and Pop think they missed their window a few months back for a cleaner break from diapers.

After some whining and tears this morning, Mommy was able to put Mercer in underwear. He's had one accident so far, but it came right after a time out so maybe it was brought on by stress. We've talked it over with him and he knows that he needs to ask Mommy or Daddy to use the toilet if he needs to go. We'll see.

Cleaning out the iPhone

Here we have a mish-mash of photos from the past month or so. We see Mercer lounging, in a toy store, taking a bath, touring a garden, getting a haircut, hiking with Daddy, playing in the park with a friend, falling off his bike, on the train, and in the playground.

Mercer visits the New York Botanical Garden

Mercer has shown an interest in the blooming flowers around the house this spring, so we thought he might like the New York Botanical Garden. It was a gorgeous day this past Saturday, so we loaded up the car and headed for the Bronx.

Mercer seemed a little indifferent to the whole thing, but we think he enjoyed it. There weren't as many blooming flowers as we had hoped, but there was still plenty to see. Flat Stanley joined us on this trip, too.


There were plenty of rocks to climb on.




It was a bright day. Here, we stopped along the Bronx River to watch people launch their canoes.




A great reaction shot after Mercer saw a giant bumblebee.

In the Conservatory garden with Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley and the famous Conservatory dome.



It was a great morning and I'm sure we'll visit again.